An American Marriage

I selected An American Marriage for the library's first book club meeting for several reasons. It was at the top of almost everyone's Best Books of 2018 lists, every patron who read it only had good things to say, and someone donated a couple copies while I was trying to decide on a book.

I may have put off reading it for a few years if not for the book club because of all the hype surrounding it; it's hard to be disappointed when you don't have any expectations. An American Marriage fully lived up to its praise. I also wasn't drawn to the plot. It seemed like something I should read but probably wouldn't like. I enjoyed this book because it was driven by the characters and their relationships.

I wasn't, however, prepared for how frustrating the characters would be. I didn't like them, but I couldn't stop reading in order to find out what happened to them. And that's a testament to Tayari Jones' skill as an author. These people she crafted were flawed and real, but I wanted everything to turn out alright for them.